Dining Room Curtains

Last weekend we ticked a decorating item off of the to-do list. Seriously, my decorating to-do list gets longer by the day. My budget, and inspiration, sadly, get shorter by the day.

Pretty much nothing has been accomplished since DJ's mom visited in January. In fact, we're negative those items, since the area rugs are hanging in the garage in hopes of avoiding any puppy accidents on them.

When she was here, I mentioned to M that I wanted amber/whiskey colored drapes in our dining room. Admittendly, we don't really need window treatments here. The window faces our driveway/ courtyard, and is under a porch that faces east, so it doesn't get too much light. And the light it does get I love, and don't want to block.

But drapes in the dining room are a good way to add color. And to have an insulating fabric to pull closed in the winter. And I also saw this image on Pottery Barn:

And really, what's not to love? Oh... the price. Even after a 40% off sale, I just couldn't pay that much for window treatments, plus hardware. And M agreed with me.

Luckily, during our hunt, we came across dining table cloths on sale at Target after Christmas. I think they were like $17.99 apiece, and 104" long. Hmm... Have I mentioned that M is an excellent seamstress? That I need a sewing boot camp with her sometime? That she's also the seamstress for my wedding dress?

So M too the tablecloths home in January, and turned them into curtains for me!

I purchased a double rod curtain rod at Lowes, in case I wanted to hang sheers behind them. DJ mounted it, while watching Mariners baseball:

And I immediately hung them! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! them! (sorry for the crappy blackberry photos). Sublte stripes, glossy sheen, lined, and on nice hardware!

They're exactly what I wanted. Thanks M! They totally change the feel of the room too; in a good way.

But I'm undecided. Should I install the white sheers, like in the photo above? Or are these substantial enough by themselves? I also bought the "hold back" hardware that matches; should we install that, or let them just hang?

Now the other end, near the bookcase/bar/sideboard looks totally lame. Le sigh. I don't really want to put curtains in that window; it gives great western light in the evening. Maybe smaller framed photos just under the window (poor photo, the window trim is juuuust visible)? Tall lamps to draw attention? A rack to hang wine glasses from?

Advise me peeps!